A discrepancy has emerged between the central report and the Khulna divisional report of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) regarding official dengue fatality and hospital admission statistics.
In the daily central report covering the period from 8am on Friday to 8am on Saturday, three dengue deaths were recorded nationwide, whereas the Khulna divisional report alone recorded five dengue deaths in Khulna division during the same period.
According to Saturday’s dengue report issued by the Health Emergency Operation Centre and Control Room of the DGHS, three more people died of dengue nationwide in the preceding 24 hours, while 1,432 new dengue patients were admitted to hospitals across Bangladesh.
The central report recorded 241 dengue patient admissions in Khulna division during the 24-hour period, but listed zero deaths for the division.
In contrast, Saturday’s statistics from the office of the Khulna Divisional director of health said that five people died of dengue in Khulna division over the same period. Of these five fatalities, four occurred in hospitals within Khulna district and one at Khulna Medical College Hospital. The divisional office also recorded 276 new dengue patient hospitalisations in Khulna division during this timeframe.
Khulna Civil Surgeon Office Deputy Civil Surgeon Dr Md Showkat Ali confirmed that five dengue patients died in Khulna in the 24-hour period up to Saturday morning. He said that complete records for all five deceased are preserved at the Civil Surgeon Office. He explained that mortality lists are compiled based on data available at the Civil Surgeon Office before being transmitted to the DGHS.
According to data from the Civil Surgeon Office, the five deaths comprised one patient at Khulna Medical College Hospital, one at Khulna Specialised Hospital, two at Khulna City Medical College Hospital, and one at Khulna Ad-din Hospital.
Khulna Divisional Directorate of Health Services Assistant Director (Administration) Dr SM Shahriar said that death data is collected from the Civil Surgeon Office, verified, and subsequently dispatched to Dhaka. He added that he spoke with the staff responsible for data entry, who also confirmed that five dengue patients had died in Khulna in the past 24 hours.
When asked about the mismatch in patient admission and fatality figures between the central and divisional reports for the same period, DGHS Director (MIS) Dr Abu Ahammad Al Mamun told TIMES that he was unaware of any errors in the data and was looking into the matter.
